Can I just say how incredibly much I hate Valentine's Day? Sure, for girls like Felicity Birdwell it's absolutely wonderful. They're showered with boxes of chocolates and sweet little decorative cards which tell them just how special they are. But for girls like me—girls who are cynical and untrusting—for us, it might just be the most dreaded holiday of the year. In addition to my basic dislike for the day, I also woke up that morning with atrocious nausea. If I hadn't just taken that pregnancy test, I would definitely have thought it was morning sickness.

"Merlin! Are you okay, Rose?" Ramona called, knocking at my stall door. We had stopped into the loo before our Potions class that day and the poor girl had to deal with my weak stomach. I can tell you now; it wasn't a very pleasant morning for Ramona Birchwood. "Rose, are you sure you don't want me to call anyone for help?"

I quickly flushed the toilet and unlocked the stall door, planting a smile on my face. "Of course not! Must have just eaten something at breakfast that my stomach didn't agree with."

Ramona raised an eyebrow, looking very unconvinced, but shrugged and said, "Well, we should get going, then. We're going to be late for Potions."

Who even cared? I knew that Scorpius and Felicity would be in that class, sitting in their usual seats conveniently placed right in front of mine so that I could experience all of their Valentine's lovingness firsthand. I inwardly groaned but quickly washed my hands and followed Ramona to the Potions chamber.

"You should get her a little stuffed animal," Gavin Abernathy was telling Albus as Ramona and I walked over and sat at our usual table. "Maybe something with a little heart on it. Girls always love that kind of stuff."

"How would you possibly know what girls like, Gavin?" I asked with a smirk as I put my things down at their table. Albus had first met Gavin when I had ditched him on our first Hogwarts Express train ride to go sit with Scorpius. The pair had become best friends that day and had been inseparable ever since. As they grew older, they were the two that girls envied—of course, along with Scorpius—but I had never looked twice at Gavin. He was still that scrawny dark-haired kid with the over-abundance of freckles and the crackly voice. But to tell you the truth, I don't think Gavin ever looked twice at me, either. When you're as pessimistic of a girl as I am, it's kind of a guy-repellant.

"If girls don't like me, then why have I already gotten four Valentines this morning?" Gavin replied, opening his bag and pulling out a pile of obnoxiously bright and shiny cards. "And it's not even nine o'clock yet."

"Ha, I got six," Albus grinned, looking very proud indeed.

"It's probably out of pity," I dismissed.

"If it's out of pity…how many have you gotten so far, Rose?" Gavin asked with such fake curiosity that I just wanted to smack him across the face. But controlling my temper (Uncle Percy had said I needed to work on that if I ever wanted a high-standing position at the Ministry), I just smirked and sat back in my seat, arms folded over my chest.

Just then, Scorpius and Felicity walked into the room. It was so depressing…they were holding hands in the cutest way—fingers interlaced with each other's. He looked at her with pure adoration as she spoke and twisted her blonde locks around her finger. A new silver necklace was laced around her neck, and hanging from it was a heart pendant. Undoubtedly a gift from her wonderful boyfriend. I sighed and tried not to look too miserable, but it was useless. I had spent the past ten years of my life loving him and I get nothing out of it?

Albus nudged me and muttered, "You okay? That was not a happy sigh."

As the pair kissed and took their seats in front of me, I just rolled my eyes and muttered, "Whatever."

"…and then she had to just run to the bathroom and puke," Ramona was telling Gavin conversationally looking very concerned. "I'm just glad I was there so she wasn't alone. I hate being alone when I'm sick."

"Yeah, same," Gavin told her, and then turned to me. "You alright, Red? Didn't eat some bad Valentine's chocolate, did you?"

I made a quick, sarcastic look as if to say oh, you're so funny. "I'm fine. But thanks for the loving concern, Abernathy."

Gavin laughed and went back to talking with Ramona, but Albus turned to me distraught. "You were sick? Is it like, morning sickness?"

I rolled my eyes. "Albus, the test was negative, remember? I'm not pregnant. As stupid as he is, Gavin's most likely right—I probably just ate some bad food at breakfast or something."

"Just be careful, Rose. Until you're absolutely sure, you shouldn't be drinking or any of that. You have to be really careful."

"Albus! The test was negative—I'm not pregnant! So you don't even have to worry about it anymore. It was one night and it was months ago. Nothing's wrong." I busied myself with taking parchment out of my bag and retrieving my quill.

Albus watched me curiously as I avoided his eyes. "Are you upset today because of him?" he asked, nodding toward Scorpius.

"Why would I be?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Because of everything that happened—"

"Albus, it's done! Now I don't want to hear his name anymore!"

"Hey, Rose. Happy Valentine's Day."

Dammit. Speak of the devil.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up with the sweetest smile I could muster and replied, "Thanks, Scorp. You too. I hope it's, er, lovely."

Oh Merlin, he was lovely. Looking into his eyes was like looking at the sky over my Uncle Bill's Shell Cottage—a strikingly beautiful blue, but at the same time something so familiar that they felt comfortable to hold my gaze to. His blond hair swept over his brow in the loveliest way. I remember being little with him, when we would run and run and run between the tall grasses of the fields around my Aunt Ginny's house or through the hallways of his mansion. And when we grew too tired to run any longer, we would collapse onto each other, his head resting on my stomach. I remember running my hands through his hair, feeling the soft tresses caressing my palms. How badly I wanted to go back to those times, when he called me his one girl. But at the same time, I don't want to be six again. I want to be sixteen with Scorpius still at my side.

"Oh, hello Rose," Felicity said, turning around as well. Her hair was perfectly curled around her rosy cheeks, while I'm sure my naturally coiled hair looked a mess. Well, it hadn't when I looked in the mirror that morning. In fact it had looked rather nice. But nothing I had could really compare to Felicity's perfection that Scorpius so admired. "Are you doing something special for Valentine's Day tonight?" she gave me a coy smile as if I were hiding a cunning little secret.

"Not really," I replied cautiously and decided to leave it at that. Every reply I thought of seemed incredibly moronic: "No, I've got some studying I should be doing." "No, I got this really good book out from the library and it kind of trumps your made-up holiday." "I have to feed my pet squid, so I naturally put my date with Viktor Krum the Second on hold." I am such a loser. "Just not that into Valentine's Day," I finally replied with a shrug.

Felicity smiled gently. "Mm, too bad. I would invite you to spend it at Hogsmeade with Mal and I, but," she shrugged and smiled sympathetically, "if you're not too into it…" She then turned forward.

Sensing awkwardness creep into the conversation, Scorpius smiled at me caringly. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he reached over and mussed my hair. "I wish I had curly hair," I remember him musing one day when we were younger. He had toyed with my corkscrews. "It would make how I look more interesting. Everything about me is just so boring and normal."

But you're not normal, Scorpius. Nothing about you could be normal. You're spectacular in every way.

It's funny how I can remember nearly every conversation I've ever had with Scorpius, but he can hardly remember my birthday.

Giving me a final grin as class began, Scorpius whispered, "I hope you have a great day, Rosalina." When he turned to the front, I had such a look of longing and desire upon my face that tears nearly welled up. As I quickly turned my gaze away from him, I looked to my right and suddenly noticed Gavin staring at me with an inquisitive look on his face. He had seen the entire thing. He knew my secret. He gave me one last consequential look before turning away.

Damn. This is why I hate Valentine's Day.

I nearly ran out of the chamber after class. There were just too many people I was trying to avoid—they boy I loved, the tramp he loved, my meddling cousin, my loquacious roommate and the boy who now knew I was undeniably in love with Scorpius Malfoy. I just love my life.

I ran up the winding staircases and through the corridors to the Room of Requirement—desperately wishing for somewhere private. Slamming the door tightly behind me, I leaned back against it breathing hard. I just needed to be alone. But apparently, so did someone else.

"Hello Rose."

I looked up sharply. Sitting in one of the leather sofas was Gavin Abernethy.

Sighing heavily, I asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Probably the same as you," he replied shortly, shutting the book he was reading and setting it down on an end table. "Sometimes I just like to get off by myself. Clearly I know a few shortcuts to the room that you don't, but you made excellent time otherwise." He smiled that smart-ass smile I had grown so accustomed to seeing. It drove me just as crazy as ever. "So what—or who—are you hiding from?"

"Gavin, I really don't want to talk right now," I said matter-of-factly. "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I would love to have just a little while alone right now. So if you could…"

"If you're insinuating that you want me to leave, it's not going to happen," Gavin told me. He narrowed his eyes. "Face it, I was here first and you came barging into my serenity. But if you would like to stay, I won't argue."

"I'd rather be a third wheel on a Valentine's Day date than stay here with you," I leered and turned to leave.

"Rose, think about it," Gavin called to me just as I was about to leave. "You have the rest of the day free to do whatever you want. But it's the fourteenth of February, which means that right now there are hundreds of couples wandering about the school being so wonderfully obvious with their relationships. Do you really want to experience that as a single girl?"

"Yeah, well why aren't you out there with them?" I asked. "Weren't you just this morning bragging about how many Valentines you had gotten? Why aren't you out with one of those girls right now?"

"I wasn't bragging," Gavin argued. His cheeks were red, making his freckles stand out even more than usual. "You were just annoying me, saying that girls didn't like me, and I decided to show you just how much they did. But anyone, none of those girls really like me. They just like the fact that I'm on the Quidditch team and think it's cool that my role on the team is to bludgeon balls at the other team, purposely trying to hurt them. They're not really interested in me. They're interested in the idea of dating a Quidditch team member." During his monologue, Gavin had drifted off into a contemplative voice. As if finally remembering I was still there, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, are you going to sit or no?"

I sighed, but slowly went over to the couch and sat on the opposite side. "So…you're not an arrogant, soft-assured prick like I always pegged you to be?"

"Ah, that remains to be seen," Gavin grinned.

I laughed. It was easy to laugh with him when we weren't around everyone. Gavin had always been my cousin's clown of a best friend—hardly romantic. But here in our own little corner, I supposed that we might be able to get along just fine without anyone asking us if we were into each other. I was also just noticing how he had grown up during the time I had knew him—though still incredibly lanky, he was finally growing into his long legs, and his dark hair had gone from an electrocuted mess to just pleasantly messy. He had a nice smile too; it was rather contagious.

Gavin pulled a few books from the shelves for me—nice thick novels dripping with adventure and romance, just how I liked—while he settled himself with a few historical volumes. We drew warm blankets over our legs and laid back into the couch. I don't know what he was thinking, but I felt wonderful sitting there feeling another person's warmth so close to mine. It had been a long time since I was able to feel close like that to anyone.

"So…" I said haltingly, not sure why I was even bringing up the subject. "Are you going to ask about me and Scorpius?"

Gavin hesitated for a moment before replying, "No. That's your business, Red."

I smiled a bit. Someone was finally on my side. I had finally found someone who respected me…and it was a person I thought I would always dislike. This didn't mean Gavin and I would become the best of friends or even love interests for each other, but it was nice to know that there was someone there.

As I leaned a bit closer to Gavin and cracked book open, I smiled to myself. Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all.

Days passed and Gavin and I never mentioned our holiday to anyone, but we did have a better understanding of each other. Now I had two people asking after me: whenever I looked the least bit sick, Albus would pull me aside and question if everything was okay. But if I even sighed with the smallest expression of sadness on my face, Gavin would grin and ask, "Alright, Red?" if anyone noticed our new relationship, it was Albus. But I hadn't expected someone else to notice.

Gavin and I were partnered for a Potions experiment the following week. Albus had taken Ramona as a partner and the pair looked like they were doing fairly well, but Gavin and I were having quite a good time.

"Milk the ringworm's juices into the potion," Gavin read from the book. He grinned at me. "I would make a suggestive joke about that, but I'm too afraid you'd slap me."

"Damn right I would," I replied in mock seriousness. "And you would be crying like a little baby from my blow."

Gavin sighed exasperatedly. "I could make such a dirty joke about that one, too. You're just making this too easy on me, Red."

"Shut up," I laughed. "You're impossible."

"Hey, Rose. "

I looked up in surprise. "Hi, Scorpius."

He was standing right there on the other side of Gavin, looking as adorable as he always did. And he had a bit of a strange expression on his face. "Erm…sorry to ask…but do you have any more rat's tongue that you could loan Felicity and me?"

Gavin handed him a little pouch. "Go ahead, mate. I've got plenty."

"Thanks," Scorpius said, taking the pouch. He looked at me again before going back to his own table.

"Okay, you just have to tell me about that," Gavin said as soon as Scorpius had walked away. And this time I knew he wasn't just trying to make fun of me—his eyes glowed with excitement, like when you're about to hear some good news from a friend. "Come one, Rose. I think I've shown you that I'm pretty trustworthy."

I laughed and shook my head.

"Come on, Rose. There's definitely something between you two."

"Didn't Albus ever tell you about me and Scorpius?" I asked. "Why can't he tell you?"

"Okay, Albus and I might talk about girls a lot," Gavin explained. "But you're kind of off limits so we sort of avoid that topic. So come on, tell me."

I sighed exasperatedly. "Fine!"

Gavin leaned in with a smile on his face, as if I were about to tell him the secret to happiness. I took a deep breath and said, "I'm in love with him." And to my surprise he laughed. Prick.

"You're in love with him?" Gavin repeated with a grin. "Come on, be real Rose. Did you two ever even go out?"

"No," I said defensively. "But—"

Gavin laughed again. "Sorry Rose, but I'm a guy." He shrugged. "I don't believe you can really be in love with a person until you've been with them a long time—until you know them inside and out. Until you can answer each other's sentences because you know them that well. I think you have to see how the person treats you as a girlfriend or boyfriend before you know you love them. And most importantly, the other person has to love you back."

I smirked. "As romantic as that sounds, Abernethy, you don't know the whole story."

"Okay, tell me the whole story."

"Well, it would be impossible to do that in such a short period of time—"

"So give me the abridged version," Gavin smiled, his head cocked to the side.

"Well," I began, not sure how to start. "I was six years old and it was summertime. My mother was working that summer so my Aunt Ginny, Albus' mum, watched me for her. That was back when Aunt Ginny was still playing Chaser for the Harpies and she hired a new agent after her old one messed up her contract. Her new agent was Scorpius' mum."

"Hm," Gavin commented. "What a coincidence."

"Because Aunt Ginny had to spend a lot of time over at their house negotiating with Mrs. Malfoy, she would take me to their house with her. And Scorpius…he was just a little boy back then. When we learned we were the same age, we became instant friends. Over the years he became my best friend. We stayed that way up until we came to Hogwarts, and afterward as well. We stayed best friends until the beginning of this year."

"Yeah, I had always seen you two around together," Gavin said. "I once asked Albus and James if you two were dating and they got all defensive about it."

"No, we never dated," I shook my head. "But I've known him nearly my entire life. I know so much about him and how he is…that's why I know I can be in love with him. Because I do know him so well and he knows me." I looked over to Scorpius' table and to my surprise, he was looking back at me. When we made eye contact, he smiled. I smiled back, but it must have been rather half-heartedly because he turned back to Felicity. That seems to be a recurring theme in my life.

"So when he started dating Felicity this year, you two weren't really friends anymore?" Gavin asked. "That sucks."

"Yeah," I agreed. I wrinkled my nose. "Is the smell of this potion really getting to you, too?" I asked, waving away the odor.

Gavin shrugged. "Not really."

It was the worst feeling. My head was killing me all the sudden, and at the same time feeling strangely light. I felt dizzy and my eyes were blurring. Nausea overwhelmed me as it had that morning. I began to sway on my feet.

"Rose!" Gavin cried, taking hold of my arm and steadying me.

"Rose, are you okay?" Albus asked, hurrying over from his table, his face contorted with worry.

"I'm fine," I tried to reply, but my tongue felt oddly thick.

I lost my balance completely and nearly fell to the floor, but Gavin reached under my arms and pulled me up, sitting me down in a seat. "Really, Red. Are you okay?" he asked. "You don't look so good. You're all pale. And your hands are shaking like crazy."

"Are you alright, Weasley?" Professor Malium asked, coming toward me. Even he looked concerned.

"I think the fumes from the potion were getting to her, Professor," Gavin replied regretfully.

"Ah yes," Professor Malium replied. "Well, it might be for the best if you leave class early today, Weasley. Wouldn't want you getting sick in your cauldron. Abernethy, can you walk her back to her dormitory?"

"Yeah, of course," Gavin replied. He gestured toward our cauldron. "We didn't finish our potion, though."

"I'll take her." I looked up to see Scorpius Malfoy raising his hand, looking straight at me. "We've finished ours. I'll take her back to her room."

My heart seemed to speed up a hundred beats per second at that moment, and it felt as if it would spring right out of my chest at any moment. I could feel the stares of Albus and Gavin as Scorpius helped me up from my chair and out of the classroom. And I could spot Felicity's face out of the crowd of students—was that a look of concern upon her face? Was Felicity really jealous of me for once?

We walked along in silence, which seemed odd given the fact we had practically been best friends since the playground age. But my mind felt as if it had been wiped blank. I couldn't think of one good topic to talk about that wasn't stupid or flirtatious. Finally, Scorp broke the silence.

"So what's going on with that Gavin kid," Scorpius asked with sharpness in his tone.

I looked up in shock. "Nothing…"

"Oh come on, Rose. Don't you dare give me that. I'm not blind, I can see you two flirting in classes and in the corridors."

He had noticed me talking to Gavin? "Scorpius, really there isn't anything between us. I needed a friend and he was there," I told him.

"Yeah right, Rose. I'm your best friend. Or I was until you started hanging about with that guy…"

"Look at the pair of us, Scorpius," I argued, my temper beginning to flare. "We haven't been best friends for ages, Scorpius. At least not since you started dating her."

"Why are you even bringing Felicity into this?" Scorpius asked. "Yeah, okay, I have a girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I had to lose my best friend."

"No! You lost me when—" When you drunkenly had sex with me, then forgot all about me and left me to wonder if I was pregnant with your child.

"When what, Rose?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

Scorpius threw his hands out to his sides. "Really, Rose? Oh, you probably go talk to your new best friend Gavin about it, won't you?"

"What is your stupid obsession with Gavin?" I cried frustratedly.

"I don't have an obsession with Gavin," Scorpius said, as if it were the most ridiculous thing. "I'm just—"

"Scorpius, why don't you just leave me alone? You're awfully good at that." I turned on my heel and began to walk away.

"Hey!" Scorpius called, catching up to me and grabbing my arm. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hot tears welled up in my eyes. He was really clueless, wasn't he?

"Hey, Rose…" Scorp's voice softened, and he gently touched my shoulder. "What's the matter?"

Students began to fill the corridors as their classes were dismissed. They crowded around us, pushing past to try and get to their next classes, laughing and chatting happily. "I—I can't talk about it right now, Scorpius. I hate crying in front of people."

"I know," Scorp murmured with his eyes full of concern. "Can we talk about this soon, though? Really?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…I think we should."

"Room of Requirement. Saturday night at nine." Scorpius squeezed my hand and walked off, leaving me in the crowd to find my way back.